The Justice Department unveiled charges against 22 Chinese nationals, three Americans, and four Chinese companies in a “first-of-its-kind” indictment stemming from an international drug trafficking scheme on Wednesday.
In a Wednesday press release, the Justice Department announced that charges had been filed against 22 Chinese nationals, four Chinese companies, and three American citizens over narcotics and money laundering conspiracies that involved illegal cutting agents.
“Today’s announcement marks a first-of-its-kind international operation for the FBI targeting the fentanyl plague that has killed tens of thousands of Americans and indicting the companies and individuals in mainland China that manufacture the precursor chemicals fueling the destruction of our communities,” Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel said.
Patel added, “This operation has already seized enough fentanyl powder to kill 70 million Americans and enough fentanyl pills to kill another 270,000. And we have now indicted the Chinese precursor companies and exposed the funding streams that facilitate this deadly trade.”
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According to the Justice Department, Eric Michael Payne, a 39-year-old U.S. citizen, has been a “main supplier of illegal cutting agents” used by fentanyl traffickers in the southern region of Ohio since 2022. Payne reportedly purchased cutting agent shipments from multiple Chinese companies. The press release claimed that the U.S. defendants in the case purchased at least 10 kilograms of fentanyl cutting agents that could be used to produce over 150 kilograms of fentanyl mixture.
“The companies allegedly used a series of Chinese foreign nationals located overseas to solicit, negotiate, and secure payments for illegal cutting agents from U.S. customers,” the Justice Department stated. “It is alleged the foreign nationals generally directed U.S. customers to pay for the cutting agents using cryptocurrency transferred to crypto wallets under the foreign national’s control for ultimate deposit into financial institutions located overseas.”
According to the Justice Department, the other two U.S. defendants in the case have been identified as 24-year-old Auriyon Tresan Rayford and Ciandrea Bryne Davis. Rayford and Davis allegedly helped Payne transfer over $60,000 in cryptocurrency to foreign nationals.
Wednesday’s press release noted that the defendants have been charged with conspiring to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl mixture and with conspiring to launder money internationally. Additionally, Rayford has been charged with maintaining a drug-involved premises, while Payne has been charged with tampering with evidence and with possessing with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl mixture.
